COOLEY HIGH

US, 1975, 110 minutes, Colour.
Glynn Turman.
Directed by Michael A. Schultz.

Cooley High is of interest as one of the earlier films of director Michael Schultz. For some time, he was seen as an exciting director e.g. Car Wash. Later he made more popular films as Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Scavenger Hunt, Carbon Copy.

The film is an imitation American Graffiti. It is set in Chicago 1964, focuses on youngsters in the black community. There is a picture of home life, school, groups, cars, clashes, violence and death. The soundtrack, of course, is full of contemporary music. There is enormous verve in the film with the lively cast. However, with language and accent, dialogue and local reference particularly American, the film is very much of interest to American audiences rather than non-Americans. It developed into a series What's Happening!!.